Railway car disc brake mechanism



Oct. 3, 1967 G. A. PELIKAN RAILWAY CAR DISC BRAKE MECHANISM4Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 10, 1965 INVENTORI Q'aig; 1% 7 21161 BY ww5.

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Oct. 3, 1967 e. A. PELIKAN RAILWAY CAR DISC BRAKE MECHANISM 4Sheets-Sheet 2 3 Filed Sept. 10, 1965 am UN aw mam Q Q m Oct. 3, 1967 e.A. PELIKAN RAILWAY CAR DISC BRAKE MECHANISM Filed Sept. 10, 1965 4Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR'.

Oct. 3, 1967 G. A. PELIKAN RAILWAY CAR DISC BRAKE MECHANISM 4Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 10, 1965 llllllltl IIIK I m T mm \m UnitedStates Patent Ofiice 3,344,893 Patented Oct. 3, 1967 3,344,893 RAILWAYCAR DISC BRAKE MECHANISM George A. Pelikan, Closter, N.J., assignor toBuffalo Brake Beam Company, a corporation of New York Filed Sept. 10,1965, Ser. No. 486,311 7 Claims. (Cl. 18858) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREA brake mechanism for a railway car truck having a pair of side framestructures, a pair of parallel axles supported on said side structures,and carrying wheels near opposite ends. On each axle midway between thewheels thereon is a double brake disc member presenting confrontingbrake faces extending transversely of the axes of the axles. A pair ofbrake shoes are operable into braking engagement simultaneously withconfronting sections of said brake disc members and away from suchengagement. Equalizer bars on opposite sides of a truck bolster serve assupports for the brake shoes.

The present invention relates to railway car brake mechanism especiallyof the freight type, in which the brakes are applied to discs rigid withcar wheels of a railway car truck.

One object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedbrake disc mechanism of the general type described.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedbrake disc mechanism of the general type described, which has a minimumnumber of parts and which applies braking pressure with great mechanicaladvantages and with minimum of stress on the car wheels and other partsof the railway car truck.

Various other objects of the invention are apparent from the followingdescription and from the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a topplan view of a railway car truck having braking mechanisms constitutingan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a fragment of the railway car truck partly in top plan viewand partly in section;

FIG. 3 is a section of the railway car truck taken approximately alongthe lines 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a section of the railway car truck taken approximately alongthe lines 44 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a section of the railway car truck taken approximately alongthe lines 55 of FIG. 1; and- FIG. 6 is a detail section of the railwaycar truck taken along the lines 66 of FIG. 5 but on a larger scale.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a railway car truck comprisinga pair of side structures or frames 10 having respective guide openings11 to receive the ends of a conventional truck bolster 12 extendingbetween said frames and projecting at the ends into said openings,

where they are supported on coil springs (not shown) and are guided byside columns 13 of said openings for vertical shock-absorbed movement.The bolster 12 is provided at its ends with lugs 14 engaging the inboardsides of the side columns 13 of the side frames 1%) and lugs (not shown)engaging the outboard side of the side columns, these lugs guiding thebolster 12 for vertical movement. The bolster 12 is also provided with acenter conformation 16 for direct pivotal connection to the underside ofthe railway car body in a conventional manner.

Between the two side frames 10 and supported thereon a by suitablebearings are two parallel axles 17 carrying on opposite ends flanged carwheels 18 which ride on rails 19.

To support certain operating parts of the brake mechanism and to assistthe bolster 12 in maintaining the truck side frames 10 parallel to therespective rails, there are provided two horizontal parallel equalizerbars 20 on opposite sides of the bolster 12, each bar being pivotallyconnected at its ends by means of pins 21 with brackets 22 welded orotherwise fixedly secured to said side frames. In the specific formshown (FIGS. 5 and 6), each bracket 22 is in the form of a tubularmember of rectangular cross-section, integral with and projectinghorizontally from the inboard side of the corresponding side frame 10,and each equalizer bar 20 is channel-shape with a top horizontal web 23and depending side flanges 24, straddling at each end the correspondingbracket 22 and rpivotally secured thereto by the pivot pin 21.

The equalizer bars 20 and the truck side frames 10 form a parallelogram,and since these are pivotally joined through the brackets 22 and thehinge pins 21, they operate as a parallel motion permitting the sideframes to shift relatively endwise and into limited angular positionswith respect to the equalizer bars 20 when the wheels 18 are rounding acurve. The equalizer bars 20 also serve to support the weight of thebrake mechanism to be described.

Fixedly secured to each axle 17 centrally between the wheels 18 thereonis a double circular brake disc member 30 concentric with the axle. Eachof these brake disc members 30 is formed with an annular V-groove 31defining two coaxial circular discs 32 extending radially outward-1yfrom a hub 33. These discs 32 are provided with bevelled confrontingfaces 34 respectively on their inner sides facing a plane therebetweenat right angle to the axis of the axis 17 and converging radiallyinwardly. These confronting faces 34 serve as braking faces and arecooled by radial fins 35 on the outer sides of the discs 32, servingalso as reinforcements for said discs.

The hub 33 between the two brake discs 32 is prolonged axially outwardlybeyond said brake discs to form end hub extensions 36 with mountingflanges 37, and the disc member 30 is diametrically split into twosimilar parts held together by bolts 38 passing through said flanges. Apad 40 (FIG. 2) of resilient material, such as rubber, and diametricallysplit, fits snugly into an annular groove 41 in the interior of the hub33 between the brake discs 32. This resilient pad 40 is thick enough, sothat when the two halves of the brake disc member 30 are bolted togethertightly enough to connect the hub 33 and the axle 17 through the rubberpad 40 for rotation in unison, even during braking action, the brakedisc member is permitted to yield radially during braking actionrelative to the axle against the resiliency of said pad for shockabsorption. This resilient mounting of the brake disc member 30 alsopermits the disc member to tilt relative to the axis of the disc memberto accommodate the brake shoes conformably ,to the brake faces 34 uponthe application of the brakes. The fit between the hub extensions 36 andthe axle 17 is close but there is enough clearance to permit the limitedmovements of the brake disc member 30 relative to the axle 17, asdescribed.

For applying the brakes to each of the brake disc members 30, there is alined brake shoe 45 pivotally supported on a hinge coupling member 46,which in turn is suspended from a bracket 47 aifixed to thecorresponding equalizer bar 20 midway thereof. The coupling member 46 isin the form of a jaw having integral therewith a finger 48 at its upperend pivotally secured to the bracket 47. The bracket 47 comprises astanchion plate 50 afiixed to the corresponding equalizer bar 20, as forexample, by welding, and upstanding therefrom. Secured to the upperpivotally secured thereto by means of a brake shoe hinge pin 54extending substantially at right angles to the axis of the correspondingpivot pin 52. The brake shoe 45 is segmental in form and is wedge shapein radial crosssection. The opposite faces 55 of the brake shoe 45 towhich brake linings are applied converge radially inwardly and aresubstantially parallel to the braking faces 34 of the brake disc member30. The opposite faces 55 of the brake shoe 45 are lined with brakeblocks 56 of suitable braking material, and these blocks are ofsubstantial uniform thickness, so that when the brake shoe is insertedto the full allowable extent into the groove 31 of the brake disc member30 by braking action, the outer faces of the brake blocks 56 will lie inconforming contact with the braking faces 34 on said brake disc member.

For applying braking power to the brake shoes 45, there is provided onone side of the bolster 12 a live inclined lever 60, extending at itslower end between offset confronting flanges 61, inclined at an anglecorresponding to the angle of inclination of the lever 60, and integralwith the corresponding coupling member 46 on said side of the bolster12. The lower end of the live lever 60 is pivotally connected to theflanges 61 by means of a pivot pin 62. The upper end of the live lever60 is pivotally connected by means of a pivot pin 63 to one end of apull or power rod 64 operated from a lever (not shown) of the aircylinder (not shown). This air brake cylinder is supported in the usualmanner on the railway car body and forms part of the conventional airbrake equipment.

The intermediate section of the live lever 60 is pivotally connected bymeans of a pivot pin 65 to one end of a connecting rod 66 shown passingthrough the bolster 12 from one side to the other side of the bolster,although as far as certain aspects of the invention are concerned, theconnecting rod 66 could extend below and across the bolster, with littlechange in its environment. The other end of the connecting rod 66 ispivotally connected by means of a pivot pin 67 to the intermediatesection of an inclined dead lever 68 on the other side of the bolster 12extending at its lower end between a pair of confronting flanges 70integral with the corresponding hinge coupling member 46 on said side ofthe bolster 12. These flanges 70 extend at an angle corresponding to theangle of inclination of the lever 68 and are pivotally secured to thelower end of said lever by means of a pivot pin 71.

The upper end of the dead lever 68 is secured by means of a pivot pin 72to a shackle 73 interlocked with one end of a link 74, the other end ofthe link being interlocked with a shackle 75 pivotally connected bymeans of a pivot pin 76 to an anchor bracket 77 secured to the adjacentside of the bolster 12 near its upper part.

The connecting rod 66 is provided with at least two sets of pivot holes80 at each end for the pivot pin 65 and the pivot pin 67, to permitadjustments in the ef fective length of said rod, to compensate for wearin the brakes. The shackle 73 is also provided with two sets of pivotholes 81 for the pivot pin 72 to permit adjustments in the elfectivelength of said rod, to compensate for wear in the brakes.

In the operation of the brake mechanism so far described, when thebrakes are to be applied, the rod 64 is pulled to the left (FIGS. 1 and2) by the air cylinder (not shown). This causes the live lever 60 on theright hand side of the bolster 12 (FIG. 1) to rotate counter-clockwiseabout the axis of the pivot pin 65, thereby moving the lower end of thislever towards the. right (FIG. 1). As a result, the brake shoe 45 withattached brake blocks 56 on the right hand side of the bolster 12 movesubstantially radially into the groove 31 of the corresponding brakedisc member 30 until the brake blocks are in braking engagement with thebrake faces 34 on the brake discs 32 of said brake disc member. Duringthis operation, the pivotal pin connections 52, 54 and 62 permit thecorresponding coupling member 46 to slide along the pivot pin 52, andthis permits the corresponding brake shoe 45 with its brake blocks 56 toadjust themselves relative to the corresponding brake disc member 30, sothat said braking blocks will engage the brake faces 34 on this brakedisc member with effective conforming braking contact.

The braking action described immobilizes the axle 17 on the right handside (FIGS. 1 and 2) of the bolster 12, and the corresponding brake shoe45 having reached the limit of its braking movement, acts as a fulcrumfor continued angular movement of the live lever 60. As the upper end ofthe live lever 66 is continued to be pulled to the left by the poweraction of the air cylinder (not shown) through the pull rod 64, the livelever 60 swings counter-clockwise about the axis of the pivot pin 62 atthe lower end of said lever and this causes the connecting rod 66 tomove towards the left. As this connecting rod 66 moves towards the left,it swings the dead lever 68 on the left hand side of the bolster 12(FIGS. 1 and 2) clockwise about the' axis of the pivot pin 72 at theupper end of said lever and that moves the lower end of the dead levertowards the left and causes thereby the corresponding brake shoe 45 withits brake blocks 56 to move radially inwardly info the brakingengagement with the brake disc member 30, in the manner described withreference to the brake mechanism on the right hand side of the bolster.This effects the immobilization of the axle 17 on the left hand side ofthe bolster 12.

Although the operation of the brakes has been described as being appliedin sequence upon the two brake mechanisms on opposite sides of thebolster 12, this Sequential operation is not necessarily followed. Bothbrake mechanisms, for example, may operate substantially simultaneouslyuntil both brake shoes 45 are braking position. In this position, thetwo brake mechanisms cooperate so that any one mechanism first reachingbraking position, will serve as anchor means by which the other brakemechanism will move relatively thereto into braking position relative toits corresponding brake disc member 30.

While the invention has been described with particular reference to aspecific embodiment, it is to be understood that it is not to be limitedthereto but is to be construed broadly and restricted solely by thescope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a railway car truck, the combination comprising a pair of coaxialcar wheels, an axle rigidly connecting said wheels together for rotationin unison, a double brake disc member on said axle rigid therewith andpresenting confronting brake faces facing a plane therebetween at rightangles to the axis of said axle, a brake shoe between said faces, meanssupporting said brake shoe for movements substantially along said planetowards said axis into braking position in contact with said faces andaway from said axis out of braking position, and comprising a couplingmember, means pivotally supporting said coupling member for movementabout a first pivot axis substantially parallel to said axle axis, andmeans pivotally connecting said brake shoe to said coupling member formovement relative to said coupling member about a second pivot axissubstantially at right angles to said first pivot axis, and brakeapplying means for applying power to said brake shoe for movement intosaid braking position and comprising means for at plying power to saidcoupling member causing said coupling member to swing about said firstpivot axis.

2. In a railway car truck, the combination described in claim 1, whereinsaid power applying means comprises a lever having a pivotal connectionto said coupling member, means supporting said lever for angularmovement causing the latter pivotal connection to move about said firstpivot axis, and thereby said coupling member about said first pivotaxis, and means for applying braking power to said lever in a directionto cause said lever to undergo said angular movement.

3. In a railway car truck, the combination described in claim 2, whereinsaid lever is inclined relative to the axle axis, and the pivotalconnection between the lever and the coupling member has an axissubstantially at right angles to the direction of inclination of saidlever.

4. In a railway car truck, the combination comprising a pair of opposedside frames extending along the longitudinal direction of the truck, twoparallel axles extending between and supported on said side frames, awheel near each end of each axle to form two pairs of coaxial wheels,the coaxial wheels of each pair being rigidly secured to thecorresponding axle extending therebetween, two double brake disc memberson said axles respectively, rigid therewith and each presentingconfronting brake faces extending transversely of the axes of saidaxles, each of said brake disc members being located substantiallymidway between the wheels on the corresponding axle, a single brake shoefor each brake disc member, means supporting each of said brake shoesfor movement into braking contact with the brake faces simultaneously ofthe corresponding brake disc member and in the section of thecorresponding brake disc member closest to the other brake disc memberand for movement out of braking contact with the latter brake faces, andmeans for applying braking power substantially simultaneously to bothbrake shoes to move said brake shoes in substantially oppositedirections into braking contact with their corresponding brake faces.

5. In a railway car truck, the combination comprising a pair of opposedside frames extending along the longitudinal direction of the truck, twoparallel axles extending between and supported on said side frames, awheel near each end of each axle to form two pairs of coaxial wheels,the coaxial Wheels of each pair being rigidly secured to thecorresponding axle extending therebetween, a truck bolster midwaybetween said axles extending between said side frames for support fromsaid side frames, two equalizer bars substantially parallel to the axesof said axles and located on opposite sides of the bolster between thebolster and the corresponding axle, said equalizer bars being pivotallyconnected at their ends to said side frames, two double brake discmembers on said axles respectively, rigid therewith and each presentinga pair of confronting brake faces extending transversely of the axis ofthe corresponding axle, a brake shoe for each brake disc member, meanssupporting each of said brake shoes for movement into braking contactwith the brake faces simultaneously of the corresponding brake discmember and for movement out of braking contact with the latter brakefaces, including means supporting said brake shoe on the correspondingequalizer bar for angular movement relative thereto about an axisextending between said side frames, and means for applying braking powersubstantially simultaneously to both brake shoes to move said brakeshoes into braking contact with their corresponding brake faces, andcomprising means for moving said brake shoes about the axes respectivelyextending between said side frames.

6. In a railway car truck, the combination as described in claim 5, saidpower applying means comprising a live lever on one side of the bolster,means pivotally connecting the brake shoe on said side of the bolster tosaid lever, a dead lever on the other side of the bolster, meanspivotally connecting the brake shoe on said other side of the bolster tosaid dead lever, a connecting rod extending from one side of the bolsterto the other side and pivotally connected at its ends to said leversrespectively, and means for applying power to said live lever.

7. In a railway car truck, the combination comprising a pair of opposedside frames extending along the longitudinal direction of the truck, twoparallel axles extending between and supported on said side frames, aWheel near each end of each axle to form two pairs of c'oaxial wheels,the coaxial wheels of each pair being rigidly secured to thecorresponding axle extending therebetween, a truck bolster midwaybetween said axles extending between said side frames for support fromsaid side frames, two equalizer bars substantially parallel to the axesof said axles and located on opposite sides of the bolster between thebolster and the corresponding axle, said equalizer bars being pivotallyconnected at their ends to said side frames, two double brake discmembers on said axles respectively, rigid therewith and each presentingconfronting brake faces facing a plane therebetween at right angles tothe axis of the corresponding axle, brake shoes for said brake discmembers on opposite sides of the bolster, each located between the brakefaces of the corresponding brake disc member, means supporting each ofsaid brake shoes for movements towards the axis of the correspondingaxle into braking position in contact with the brake faces on thecorresponding brake disc member and away from the latter axis out ofbraking position, and comprising a coupling member, means supportingsaid coupling member on the corresponding equalizer bar for angularmovement rela tive to said equalizer bar about a first pivot axissubstantially parallel to the axis of the corresponding axle, and meanspivotally connecting said brake shoe to said coupling member formovement relative to said coupling member about a second pivot axissubstantially at right angles to said first pivot axis, and brakeapplying means for applying power to said brake shoes for substantiallysimultaneous movements into said braking positions, and comprising meansfor applying power to said coupling members, causing said couplingmembers to swing about their respective first pivot axes.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,079,554 5/1937 Hedgcock..188-58 DUANE A. REGER, Primary Examiner.

1. IN A RAILWAY CAR TRUCK, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING A PAIR OF COAXIALCAR WHEELS, AN AXLE RIGIDLY CONNECTING SAID WHEELS TOGETHER FOR ROTATIONIN UNISON, A DOUBLE BRAKE DISC MEMBER ON SAID AXLE RIGID THEREWITH ANDPRESENTING CONFRONTING BRAKE FACES FACING A PLANE THEREBETWEEN AT RIGHTANGLES TO THE AXIS OF SAID AXLE, A BRAKE SHOE BETWEEN SAID FACES, MEANSSUPPORTING SAID BRAKE SHOE FOR MOVEMENTS SUBSTANTIALLY ALONG SAID PLANETOWARDS SAID AXIS INTO BRAKING POSITION IN CONTACT WITH SAID FACES ANDAWAY FROM SAID AXIS OUT OF BRAKING POSITION, AND COMPRISING A COUPLINGMEMBER, MEANS PIVOTALLY SUPPORTING SAID COUPLING MEMBER FOR MOVEMENTABOUT A FIRST PIVOT AXIS SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO SAID AXLE AXIS, ANDMEANS PIVOTALLY CONNECTING SAID BRAKE SHOE TO SAID COUPLING MEMBER FORMOVEMENT RELATIVE TO SAID COUPLING MEMBER ABOUT A SECOND PIVOT AXISSUBSTANTIALLY AT RIGHT ANGLES TO SAID FIRST PIVOT AXIS, AND BRAKEAPPLYING MEANS FOR APPLYING POWER TO SAID BRAKE SHOE FOR MOVEMENT INTOSAID BRAKING POSITION AND COMPRISING MEANS FOR APPLYING POWER TO SAIDCOUPLING MEMBER CAUSING SAID COUPLING MEMBER TO SWING ABOUT SAID FIRSTPIVOT AXIS.